The pressure is on Arizona although I am not sure if they will ever admit how much it plays a role, but they are feeling it...
"It definitely puts some pressure on us, but you can't push the panic button - we're still in a good spot," Arizona's Conor Jackson said. "We need to come out and play like we have the last two months.
"This is kind of uncharacteristic for our ballclub, but we're going to bounce back. We've got four games to do some damage."
Webb is 3-0 with a 3.91 ERA in his last four starts, also is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in four career starts against the Pirates He hasn't been particularly sharp in September, a month in which he has posted a 4.18 ERA, but he allowed just two runs in 661/37 innings against the Dodgers in his most recent start.
but maybe the pressure is not on the mound but at the plate....
"I don't know if we're pressing, trying to do too much," Arizona's Chris Young said. "We're just not getting the big hit right now. But we still have the lead, and it's not the worst thing in the world. ... We still control our own destiny, we just got to win ballgames."
Is this game important at all to the Pirates?
The Pirates will try for their third straight win after losing nine in a row, while looking to prolong Arizona's quest for a division title.
"They're not going to throw a party over there, not while they're here," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said.
This game fits a system play for today:
Play On Home teams when the money line is +125 to -125 (PITTSBURGH)
with a starting pitcher whose ERA is 5.70 or worse on the season (NL), with a cold starting pitcher- ERA >= 7.00 over his last 3 starts
195-131 since 1997.
59.8% (68.7 units)
Then of course I like to look at the umpire too.
Greg Gibson--they guy is a homer foo sho. 19-14 (62-42 L3 yrs) on the year and 6 of the last 8 overall. Webb has pitched in five games he has worked and the snakes went 2-3, with the two wins at home.
He worked one game with Van Benschoten and the Bucs won that game.
Today's lineups:
Arizona
AB R H RBI BB K LOB Season Avg
C. Young cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238
S. Drew ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233
E. Byrnes lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
T. Clark 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
M. Reynolds 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
J. Salazar rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
C. Snyder c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
A. Ojeda 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .276
B. Webb p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .086
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pittsburgh
AB R H RBI BB K LOB Season Avg
N. Morgan cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289
J. Wilson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
A. LaRoche 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275
X. Nady rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .283
J. Bautista 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
N. McLouth lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
J. Castillo 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .242
C. Maldonado c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .176
J. Van Benschoten p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
Totals
LaRoche has been red hot and Jack Wilson finally gets into the starting lineup of the Bucs. The Snakes need a win but they have to be looking at the series with Rocks this weekend.
Pirates +1.5 +135
Pirates +222
Over 8.5 -105
of course I could be over analyzing
s c OO p
